Let’s make this short and sweet: Barring any sort of last-minute silliness (never outside the realm of possibility at Dakar), Ricky Brabec is the winner of the 2020 Dakar Rally.
Brabec’s win means Honda has dethroned KTM after seven years of trying. KTM had won the bike category for the past 18 years. It’s also the first time an American has won the bike category at Dakar.
The final stage racing came with no surprises during the course, although KTM, Yamaha and Husqvarna all would have been happy if it had run at full length, instead of seeing the special basically cut in half, giving them less time to catch up with those in front. As it was, with Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) opening, and the Honda team a fair bit back, all that Brabec and Co. had to do was pay attention to basic navigation, following the tracks of those in front, and rip it home. That put Jose Ignacio Cornejo Florimo down for the stage win, Brabec, right behind him, and KTM’s Toby Price in third.
And that’s that! The final top 10 standings are below, and we’ll have a write-up for the whole race coming shortly.
2020 Dakar Rally Stage 12 Results
1. Jose Ignacio Cornejo Florimo, Honda
2. Ricky Brabec, Honda, + 00:00:53
3. Toby Price, KTM, + 00:02:25
4. Luciano Benavides, KTM, + 00:03:09
5. Pablo Quintanilla, Husqvarna, + 00:03:23
6. Kevin Benavides, Honda, + 00:03:53
7. Adrien Metge, Sherco, + 00:03:53
8. Franco Caimi, Yamaha, + 00:04:33
9. Maciej Giemza, Orlen, + 00:04:33
10. Andrew Short, Husqvarna, + 00:04 :57
Final results
1. Ricky Brabec, Honda
2. Pablo Quintanilla, Husqvarna, + 00:16:26
3. Toby Price, KTM, + 00:24:06 (00:02:00 penalty)
4. Jose Ignacio Cornejo Florimo, Honda, + 00:31:43 (00:01:00 penalty)
5. Matthias Walkner, KTM, + 00:35:00
6. Luciano Benavides, KTM, + 00:37:34
7. Joan Barreda Bort, Honda, + 00:50:57 (00:15:00 penalty)
8. Franco Caimi, Yamaha, + 01:42:35 (00:05:00 penalty)
9. Skyler Howers, Klymciw, + 02:04:01
10. Andrew Short, Husqvarna, + 02:10:40 (00:30:00 penalty)
